Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $3.8\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$119$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${3.8\%} \times {\$119} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $3.8\%$ is equivalent to $3.8 \div 100$ $3.8 \div 100 = 0.038$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.038$ $\times$ $$119$ = $$4.52$ You would pay $$4.52$ in sales tax.